where we pretend.....

Having been a child that pretty much grew up on the Pearce farm, it is only natural for me to be drawn to the beauty and simplicity that exists at the Slate Run Historical Farm. There’s just something about the lifestyle of the 1800’s that compels me to take account of my own lifestyle and reconsider all the clutter that fills this life I live in the 21st century. After Grandpa’s battle with Parkinson’s and his ultimate passing in May 2004, I carried sadness about me knowing that my children would never experience the sights and smells that were such a familiar part of my childhood. That sadness remained until I discovered this little slice of history just miles from our home. It is now my ultimate mission to share with my children the simplicity of days gone by and to make sure they know the type of life their great grandfather lived and the legacy he left behind.

The historical farm is a working 1880's farm that has been preserved and part of the Central Ohio MetroParks. They do everything on the farm just as they would of in the 1880's, including the grass clipping, gardening, canning, cooking, farming, laundry washing, etc.

While we go to the farm several times a year, I always make a point to go on May 21 (or in the same week). Grandpa passed away 4 years ago on May 21, 2004.
The last several years before he passed, he body failed him miserably, but that didn't erase the years of memories i have of him and my dad and uncle working--sweat dripping from the brow--while they tended to the chores of the farm. I guarantee you, that working a farm is the hardest job in the world.

I love to take the girls there, not only for the sensory experience, but to also have their undivided attention. It makes for perfect dialogue, and understanding on their part, of what it was like for me growing up as a child and it gives me the opportunity to tell them about their Grandpa they didn't get to know.

i'll leave you with some peeks into the farm where we pretend. i'm so very thankful for volunteers that are willing to keep this beautiful piece of history up and running which allows the public to slip away from the hustle and bustle of city life and enjoy the mesmerizing activity of farm life.

if you have the opportunity locally, i would highly recommend taking your kids or even go as adults to see the inner workings of farming. you can find a similar experience by googling "CSA farms". the pace is just so very different from city life and the disconnect from all the "noise" in our society these days is sheer bliss. going way out where you hear nothing but birds chirping, baby piglets snorting, clanking chains and repeative click, click, click of the horse's hooves stamping the ground working their field. it is music to my ears.

oh, how i long to be in the country and free from excess noise.